With millions of viewers tuning in to watch Honey Boo Boo and to see screaming little kids get spray tanned and drenched in hair spray to compete on Toddlers and Tiaras, it came as a shock to many United States citizens that France has now banned beauty pageants for children ages 16 and under as of Tuesday, September 17th, 2013.

The French Senate decided the matter on a 196 to 146 vote. Senator Chantal Jouanno proposed this change and explained that we should “not let our daughters think from such a young age that they will be judged according to their appearance”.

The fate of the “Mini Miss” contests will be officially decided when the sexual equality law returns to the lower house National Assembly in November. Although the law was passed by the Senate, there are still some who stand in favor for the contests.

Founder and organizer of the annual French Mini Miss pageant, Michel le Parmentier believes the child contest in France is not like the equivalents in the United States. “This is not Miss Universe where the women are in bikinis and they show their bodies and their chests. There’s no hyper-sexualization in the ‘Mini-Miss’ contests. It’s all a bit of fun” he said in response to this amendment.  Le Parmentier believes a ban is too strong of an action, and that a regulation would be better. He fights for the belief that participating in these pageants is good for these girls and that it is teaching them “to be well dressed, polite, and positive in their own skin”.

The whole issue was first brought up by a photo shoot conducted by Vogue featuring images of young girls (age 10) in tight dresses, jewelry, heels, and makeup. Vogue responded by saying it is “a common fantasy among young girls — to dress like their mother”.

Organizers of these events can now face multiple years in jail and extensive fines for conducting the contests.